Data Autonomy

Do you ever feel like you lack knowledge about what happens to your data? I want to reassure you of one thing...

First, what is a SBoM? A SBoM, or a Software Bill of Materials, can be seen as...

In its broadest sense, data autonomy describes the ability of individuals and organizations to make meaningful decisions about their data...

As a student in the educational ecosystem, the topic of 'data', and even more so 'data autonomy', is one that is very rarely broached in either formal discussions or social circles. At first glance...

As universities become more and more dependent on digital infrastructure provided by Big Tech companies, many researchers are increasingly worried about the resulting phenomenon of “digital dependence”. There is the worry that...

Google just announced its plans to invest 600 million to build a new datacenter in Winschoten that serves as a back-up for the hyperscale datacenter at the Eemshaven. By introducing the Cloud as the ultimate solution to future proof our data storage, Google and other Big Tech corporations ensured that our digital infrastructures now depend on these large investments.

Data autonomy can only be achieved if the underlying infrastructure and services used to capture, store, transport and handle the data are autonomous as well. Therefore GÉANT and the national research and education networks (NRENs, such as SURF in the Netherlands) aim to contribute to data autonomy by providing an autonomous e-infrastructure for Research and Education.

The team IT for Education is responsible for all educational applications that are used by both students and lecturers at the University of Groningen. This set of applications includes systems such as Brightspace, Ocasys, the scheduling system, and Kaltura. As you can imagine, a lot of data is being processed by these systems.

On 25 May 2023 the Center for Information Technology of the University of Groningen (UG) hosted a workshop on data autonomy in higher education. This workshop was part of the 16th edition of the international Conference on Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) that took place on May 24 - 26 in Brussels, Belgium.

In this article, Babette Kanuer explores why academics and their institutions should consider a transition from Twitter to Mastodon to support open principles and avoid relying on centralised, commercial platforms where users lack control and data autonomy.